The development of the VK-800 small-sized turboshaft engine (TVD) is being completed in Russia. This was stated by the leading designer of the power plant project Vitaly Loginov, speaking at a scientific and technical seminar at the Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) named after P.I. Baranov. According to him, in 2020 certification of the aircraft equipped with VK-800 is planned.
“A mock-up commission was held with the participation of specialists from the CIAM certification center. This year we are looking forward to working closely with the institute: we plan to use the bench base of CIAM and SIC CIAM for conducting certification tests. Technical assignments have already been discussed and draft contracts have been circulated, ”Loginov said.
VK-800 is being developed at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA, Yekaterinburg) and at the ODK-Klimov (St. Petersburg). In the near future, the aircraft-type engine (VK-800S) will be assembled in the "gland" for certification tests.
“In 2018, the first experimental engines passed tests, more than 60 successful launches were worked out for them. To carry out flight tests of the engine in the composition of the aircraft, two aircraft of regional aviation have been allocated, one of them is being converted into a flying laboratory, ”the CIAM website says.
- Trubovalny engine VK-800
- © tehnoomsk.ru
Serial production of VK-800 will be deployed immediately after receiving the certificate. The engine will be assembled by the Research and Production Center “Shoulders. Compressors. Turbines ”(near Volokolamsk). This company produces most of the components for VK-800. The remaining units are produced by the Omsk Motor-Building Design Bureau, UEC-Perm Motors, Metalist-Samara, and the Molniya Scientific Production Enterprise (Bashkortostan).
“The development is focused on the creation of a modern, reliable, lightweight and inexpensive economical engine. The level of engine parameters is selected based on the conditions of application of the used model of a centrifugal compressor and single-stage uncooled turbines. These features simplify the design of the engine and reduce the cost of its production and operation ", - noted on the site" ODK-Klimov. "
Transition to a new family
VK-800 will become a turboshaft engine, on the basis of which power plants will be created for light aircraft and helicopters with a carrying capacity of 1-1.5 tons. As explained to RT, AviaPort agency executive director Oleg Panteleev, .
"All power plants will have a common dimension, but for each machine our engineers will develop a separate engine modification taking into account its specificity, flight mode, etc. Such unification is widely used in the world, as it allows to reduce development costs and mass production," Panteleyev.
At the moment, it is known that after completion of certification tests, the VK-800 will be installed on a multi-purpose aircraft L-410UPV-E20, whose production has been localized in 2016 at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant. This machine is widely used in the regions of the Russian Federation for the transport of goods (about 1 ton) and passengers (up to 19 people). Also, a small fleet owned by the Ministry of Defense.
L-410 was created by the Czechoslovak Let enterprise (now Aircraft Industries) in the late 1960s for the local airlines of the socialist countries. The main customer of this machine was the Soviet Union. In the USSR, over 800 units were sold.
The L-410 turned out to be an economical, unpretentious and convenient in operation multi-purpose aircraft. Due to the high demand it has been repeatedly improved. Currently, 100% of Let Kunovice shares are owned by the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company.
“The L-410 is an extremely successful aircraft, especially for Russian conditions. The need for it is still very great. When installing new onboard equipment and replacing individual units and assemblies, this is a modern machine with good export potential. It is quite logical that Russia decided to localize the production of L-410 in the Urals, ”said Panteleev.
The development of the Russian engine is important because now the M-401 and H80 engines of the Czech company GE Aviation Czech (Walter), which is part of the division of the American corporation General Electric, are installed on the L-410. The appearance of the VK-800 will relieve the UZGA from the need to acquire foreign aggregates.
- Airplane L-410UPV at the airport in Russia
- © Wikimedia commons / Aleksandr Markin
According to ODK-Klimov, it is planned to equip the Ansat multi-purpose light helicopters, Ka-226, Ka-126 (Ka-128), Mi-54 and other domestic helicopters with a line of VK-800. Thus, the American unit PW-207K is installed at Ansat, and the Ka-226 fly on Rolls-Royce (Great Britain) and Safran Helicopter Engines (France) engines.
“Unfortunately, Russia was practically devoid of its own engines for lightweight aircraft. These are the echoes of insufficient attention to small aircraft from the Soviet state and a consequence of the economic collapse of the 1990s. As a result, our industry was forced to create helicopters without domestic engines, ”said Vladimir Popov, an honored Russian pilot, in an interview with RT.
However, the expert is confident that with the start of the serial production of VK-800 the situation will change dramatically.
In his opinion, the transition of domestic aviation to a new family of power plants will be completed during the 2020s. Western sanctions, according to Popov, will only give a positive dynamic to the process of import substitution.
“Thanks to VK-800, the aviation industry will receive an additional impetus for development. Now on all light helicopters and airplanes you can install domestic engines, which are no worse than imported ones. It can be expected that after this the demand for lightweight aviation products will increase, including from government customers, including law enforcement agencies who prefer not to buy equipment with foreign aggregates, ”said Popov.
"In fact, a new generation"
VK-800S surpasses foreign analogues in a number of characteristics - take-off power (900 hp vs. 850 hp in the Czech H80) and economy. As for the specific fuel consumption, it is 0.243 kg / hp for the Russian engine. per hour, whereas in H80 - 0.269, in M601F - 0.287. Experts believe that VK-800S meets all modern requirements.
In the coming years, domestic engineers are planning to develop more advanced versions of the VK-800. Speaking at a conference at CIAM, the Vice-Rector for Research at MAI, Yuri Ravikovich, suggested abandoning the oil system and creating a “dry” engine - this type of unit is notable for its increased power and reliability.
- Ka-226 helicopter at HeliRussia
- RIA News
- © Alexey Kudenko
“If we talk about helicopter engineering, the VK-800 for our country is actually a new generation. "ODK-Klimov" has extensive experience and serious competences in the production of engines such as TV2-117 and TV3-117. But these are power plants of the Soviet era, and the VK-2500 was created in 2001 in cooperation with Motor-Sich, Zaporozhye. In turn, VK-800 is created, one can say, from scratch. And all the components, according to the developer, will be Russian, ”said Panteleev.
As CIAM notes, “the creation of a family of engines based on the gas turbine VK-800 for aircraft has become an instrument for solving the state task of developing the national transport network - in particular, the regions of Siberia and the Far East.
The project is directly supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Vladimir Popov is convinced that the appearance on the market of the VK-800 will become an incentive for the development of small aircraft and intraregional transportation in the Russian Federation. According to him, the new domestic engine will naturally remove the limitations that exist in the aircraft manufacturers due to their dependence on foreign products.
“I think that the VK-800 family will be competitive and, with due state support, oust the western engines from the domestic market. The bill will go to hundreds of units, and this means that the funds invested in the development will pay off quickly enough. In addition, we completely close the issue of sanctions risks. Great prospects are opening up for small aircraft, which plays the role of the circulatory system in the economy of our regions, ”emphasized Popov.